Is a robotic retriever in your future? Amazon thinks so: In a patent application published today, inventors working for the Seattle-based online retailer lay out a detailed plan for an… Read More
Amazon has taken one more conceptual step toward an integrated system that can size up fashion customers and sell them tailor-made clothing. The latest advance comes in the form of… Read More
News Brief: It’s been a long time coming, but today Amazon can say it holds the patent for a retailing system that can take custom orders for 3-D printed items,… Read More
Most inventors look for ways to make their machines more robust, but Amazon has won a patent for delivery drones that fall apart more easily. Why? For safety reasons. The… Read More
A Native American tribe and a small computer company have reportedly sued Amazon and Microsoft, claiming that they’re infringing on patents relating to supercomputer technology. The lawsuits are the latest… Read More
Amazon’s inventors have come up with a computer-based system that makes use musical transformations to authenticate a whole group of users — and block access if anyone strikes a false note.… Read More
We already know about Amazon’s concept for airship warehouses to support drone deliveries, but here’s a new twist: Now the Seattle-based retailing giant has received a patent for another airship… Read More
It’s no secret that Amazon is intrigued by the potential applications of augmented reality for e-commerce – and one of those applications is explored in a newly published patent. Imagine that… Read More
Have you ever scrambled around at an airport, hunting down a power outlet for your laptop or smartphone? Amazon’s inventors have the answer: a power-charging robot that’ll come to your… Read More
Around the same time it modified its basic user agreement to drop a patent-related clause that troubled customers, Amazon Web Services quietly added language to its agreement that protects customers… Read More
Amazon Web Services has quietly dropped a controversial provision from its user agreement that essentially forced customers to agree that they could never file a patent infringement lawsuit against the… Read More
Amazon has won yet another patent for a system that would use robotic mannequins to check the fit of garments purchased online – and take selfies showing how the clothes look.… Read More
If filmmakers ever decide to do a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” with drones instead of birds, they could use Amazon’s concept for a drone-dominated fulfillment center in their… Read More
The University of Washington’s innovation hub CoMotion is cutting approximately 15 percent of its staff as well as eliminating open positions, as it reorganizes its business model and copes with… Read More
What happens if a child or a dog wanders into range while a drone is dipping down to make a delivery? Amazon has an answer: a “virtual safety shroud” that the… Read More
How does Amazon plan to keep automated warehouses free of debris? With automated cleanup robots, of course. At least that’s a scenario laid out in a patent granted to the… Read More
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … oh wait, it’s my package of diapers. Amazon customers could someday be repeating this phrase as the online retail giant this morning received a… Read More
Amazon has patented some crazy ideas, including flying fulfillment centers that drop packages from the air. But its patent for “aquatic fulfillment centers” could be the craziest one yet. The… Read More
Seattle startup TurboPatent has raised $1.45 million in a convertible note as it gets ready to release the second version of some products and expand its documentation automation capabilities. TurboPatent… Read More
Amazon’s inventors are taking a page from Inspector Gadget’s playbook to design drones with adjustable landing legs and reconfigurable propellers. Those two design tricks are the focus of patents issued… Read More
Amazon has come up with some wild and crazy patents, but a patent issued today has to rank among the wildest: It calls for turning the packages ejected by its delivery drones into… Read More
Amazon has sought patents for hitchhiking drones, mini-drones that can sit on shoulders, drones that assemble themselves like Lego toys – and now drones that flip their wings to go from vertical… Read More
If you’re thinking about building a knockoff of Amazon’s Treasure Truck, the funky delivery vehicle for flash deals ranging from cameras to candy, consider yourself warned: The design is now patented.… Read More
There’s been a lot of speculation about Amazon’s interest in self-driving delivery trucks, and a newly issued patent suggests that the Seattle-based retailer is putting a lot of thought into… Read More
Samsung and its subsidiaries won the most patents of any company in 2016, according to a new report from Sqoop, a Seattle startup that helps journalists more efficiently mine public… Read More
IBM is once again the king of patents, according to a new report, but other tech giants, including Pacific Northwest heavyweights Microsoft and Amazon are catching up. IFI Claims Patent… Read More
Right now, Amazon’s delivery drones are designed to drop off packages weighing no more than 5 pounds. But what if you could link up lots of drones? Then your bigger… Read More
Some patents seem so way out that you have to wonder if they’re a joke. Such is the case for Amazon’s patent covering an “airborne fulfillment center” that would launch… Read More
If there are any Robin Hoods out there who are thinking about shooting down drones while they’re making deliveries, Amazon has a patented plan to stop you. The patent, filed… Read More
Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold is one of the most controversial figures in the technology industry — a lightning rod for criticism of the patent system thanks to his company’s large… Read More